Create Your Own Jefa Studio

Jefa means Boss, and over the weekend I had the absolute honor to chat with powerhouse Kimberly Villatoro of Smashbox’s Jefacon! Smashbox created this fantastic platform to share information, experiences, and knowledge from other incredible jefas to the Latinx community! During my segment, I spilled my tips and tricks for building my own at-home studio to create fantastic content. It was so incredible to be a part of this event and to chat with Kimberly about how other jefas can easily create an in-house studio to deliver their best storytelling and branding!

Scroll down for tips and tools to create your at-home studio!

Be Lista!

Be ready! No matter where I am or what time it is, connecting with people on the other side of that screen is the most important thing! They’re giving me their valuable time and I need to be respectful of that. At my heart, I am always a viewer, so I talk to people about the things I want to hear and how I want to hear them. I address my viewers the way I want to be spoken to…with respect, authority, kindness, generosity, and spirit. No matter how little time you have, if you do these things, you will reach through the screen to those people…even if you only have a 60 second spot at 4am!

Bring your roots into your work

I’m made up of three parts: Mexican, Puerto Rican, and American…and growing up all I wanted to do was blend in with my predominately white friends and neighbors. But none of them had tortillas in the morning for breakfast or ate chorizo…I was already different and I only knew how to try to be like them. I didn’t realized the importance of being my authentic version of myself until I went to college in Washington DC. I stopped wanting to be like everyone else and started wanting to be like me. My authentic experience is uniquely mine…nobody else can tell a story like I can because nobody else has my background, family, or experiences.

Your unique voice is so so important. The more comfortable you get with yourself, the more successful you will be. So many people can identify with bits and pieces of your stories because they share in those experiences. You can weave those parts of who you are into your narrative as you grow and gain more experiences. As someone who didn’t speak English until I was almost 6 and was on financial aid all through school until I got a full scholarship for college, I’ve grown into that comfort and confidence. It gets easier as I get older.

Create a narrative that belongs to you…nobody else can tell that story.

Lockdown List: The Makings of a jefa studio

This is THE list of tools I use to create my at-home studio with that on-set feel. As my home workspace has changed throughout the pandemic, so have some of my tech tools. Some of this equipment is budget friendly, some is an investment, and you can shop it all below. I set all of this up myself, nobody helped me…you got this!

Most important: Your camera! Video recording is a steep learning curve in the beginning, but set yourself up for success. These two video options are super easy to navigate and aren’t tech heavy or overwhelming to learn:
- iPhone - This one of my most powerful pieces of equipment. It shoots in 4G video and super high quality. When recording, I used the back camera only, not the selfie camera. Tip: For rich, beautiful videos, set your iPhone to 1080p at 30 frames per second.
- Canon G7X - For a step up, this is super simple to operate and has the ability to record incredible video. The quality is amazing, great sound, and I love playing with the settings. It’s basically a point in shoot, but I think it’s just as great as a DSLR camera.
Lighting: Make sure the light is coming in from behind your camera! Everyone has a different light they love, I’m always trying to mimic natural daylight. If I don’t have beautiful natural light, I use two different tools:
- Ring Light - This small and compact 10-inch ring light features simple buttons that control the temperature, warm and cool, and vary the intensity. This is the full package, it even comes with a mount for your smartphone or your camera inside the ring light so you don’t need to buy a tripod. It’s super light and portable, you can throw it in a backpack, leave it in your room, whatever you want. It’s so easy!
- RaLeno LED Lighting Kit - If you want a 3-point lighting setup, this is a must-have item! Two lights, two tripods, two chargers, AND it comes in a case. This is everything you need!
Sound: Great quality sound totally improves the overall viewer experience. To make sure I have crystal clear sound, I use one of two microphones:
- SabineTek SmartMike+ - I clip it to my shirt, it’s Bluetooth powered, and it connects to my phone or camera.
- Rode VideoMicro. It’s super easy, affordable, and plugs right into your phone or camera. Both of these options are effortless and necessary!
Added Bonus: A portable backdrop. Not everyone loves their background, so this will help to cover anything you don’t want in the video, and it helps to even out the light! These backdrops come in a million different colors! I go with an Ivory shade. It’s not too warm, not too cool, it’s very natural and beautiful for featuring beauty content. Add on a portable stand so you can take it and set it up wherever you go!

Keep in mind

It’s not the tools, but the person making the content (YOU!) that makes what you do so incredible. Organize your thoughts really well and hone in on the goal of the video to teach, share, and empower the people watching it. When you sit down to make your videos, share the passion and values behind your brand and your product. That’s what will draw people in and make you stand out!

A note about presence

I do not walk out there fearless. Y’all, I wish I did. So many of us suffer from Imposter Syndrome, asking ourselves “How did I get here, what am I doing here, do I belong here?” I push that aside and give myself a pep talk…sometimes even out loud! I tell myself that I belong in this space. I earned this, I deserve this, and I am going to take up space. I’m going to wear whatever makes me feel confident. I don’t care if everyone else has perfect news anchor hair, this is my hair, it’s a little messy, and I love it! Saying this is my emotional version of a power stance. If we don’t feel it inside, people on the other side of the camera will notice. The viewers can spot a fake in a heartbeat…your audience is smart! You need to be lista from the inside out. Don’t be afraid to give yourself a pep talk. It makes me the most confident, beautiful, secure version of myself, and that’s what I’m going to do!